Sunday, September 1, 2013

Man Overboard!!!!

I was awoken yesterday morning by Randy telling me that he had reserved us a boat at Toledo Bend, and I needed to get up and get ready! Not really a big deal, as since he got his Louisiana boating license, we have rented boats several times. So, we load up the van with a days worth of snack, swimming paraphernalia and fishing poles and head off.
The first hiccup we hit on our adventure is Carter. After much coaxing last time we took the boys boating, Carter finally got on the pontoon that Randy had rented, and had a great time. This time, there were no pontoons available, so we were going out on a v-bottom bass boat. Carter was really not feeling such a small boat. He was convinced it was going to either tip over or sink. Poor kid was so worried about it, he actually threw up on deck! After cleaning him up, getting him a Sprite and assuring him that the boat was safe, we were off!!
All was really good for the first portion of our trip. We boated out quite a ways and found an island that Randy and I had fished off of before. We docked the boat, did some fishing, and then the three boys got out, pretended they were pirates and explored the island. I think they even buried a little treasure!
By this point in the day, we were getting a little hungry, and goodness knows that growing pirates need fuel, so we decided to head to Pirates Cove Grill. We had not actually been to this place before, but had read about it. You can actually just drive your boat up to the shore line, dock it, and get out and go enjoy the restaurant. The boys though this was a great idea, as did I! Honestly, I am not an outdoors-woman by any stretch of the imagination, but have really enjoyed this summer of boating, camping (in a cabin...with AC and indoor plumbing) and fishing!
All was good on the way into the marina area. We found the place and Randy proceeded to ease us towards the bank. This is when the trip took its turn for the worse! There was an older man on the bank tending to his boat, and he called out to Randy. Just a little casual conversation on whether or not we had been there before and what not. Randy visited with him for a minute, while he was easing the boat closer to a nice docking spot. Now, Randy is not an experienced boater....nor can he swim very well, and he is used to the area near the bank being very shallow. We are also in a boat, that we rented from the Army, so he wants to be very careful when he docks it, so he decides to just jump in the water and pull the boat into the spot. Unfortunately, the water was about 10 feet deep at this spot! All I see is Randy step over the side, thinking he is stepping in about two foot of water, and BAM he sinks like a brick!! I look over the side of the boat, and all I see is the captain's hat I gave him for Father's Day floating on top of the water!!! Then I see a hand, holding onto the side of the boat, and I hear the man on the bank asking Randy if he needs any help!
Now, if you know me very well, you know that I am at this point having a really hard time not laughing, but being the good wife, I figure that now is not the time. The man is yelling to Randy that he will get in his boat, and pull us to shore, but Randy is a trooper, and is now just trying to semi-swim and pull the boat along behind him, all the while both Cash and Carter are wanting to drop the anchor!! We bounce the boat off of someone else's pontoon, but Randy is finally able to get his footing and pull our vessel into a spot. The older man is still on the bank, just looking at Randy, who is now on solid ground, dripping wet with a very, very wet captain's hat back on his head, and he says,"There is a bathroom up there where you can wring out your clothes before you go eat...oh, and you also may want to make sure that you have really tied your boat off well so that it does not end up back in the cove." I imagine this man went home and had quite a story to tell his wife!! Luckily the rest of the trip was event free!
I do have to say, that I handled this whole thing very well...until we got home. Last night I laughed so hard, re-enacting the entire event for Randy, that I may have peed on myself a little! I think maybe I should have bought him a Gilligan hat for Father's Day instead of the Captain's hat!!!!